New Jersey launched a $40 million grant program on Friday to encourage landlords to rent vacant properties to low- and moderate-income tenants affected by superstorm Sandy.

The program, which is paid for with federal Community Development Block Grant funds the state has received, will offset about 30 percent of monthly rents for qualifying tenants.

For example, a landlord who charges a tenant $1,410 a month to rent an apartment in Monmouth County would receive $590 through the state program and charge the tenant $820. The rates would vary slightly based on the number of bedrooms in the rental, the county and the tenant’s income, according to the state Department of Community Affairs, which announced the program.

The Landlord Incentive Program aims to help 1,000 families and increase the state’s affordable-housing stock in areas of the state affected by Sandy over two years.

“We encourage rental property owners to participate in the program, which complements our other efforts to assist residents and communities in recovering from the storm,” Richard Constable, the commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, said in a statement.

The Christie administration said in a statement that it also plans to start the Neighborhood Enhancement Program, which would try to stabilize “threatened but viable” communities, and the Pre-development Fund for Affordable Rental Housing, which would give non-profit developers money to address the need for affordable rentals following Sandy.

Owners of rental properties must apply with the state Department of Community Affairs to participate in the Landlord Incentive Program.